"What did you think?" Henry questioned as I scraped my spoon against the bowl. I thought I saw his eyes gleaming with delight at the fact I had eaten something. I wished I could share in his delight. My stomach felt fuller but I still felt waves of nausea almost taking me over the edge.
"Even better than I remember. Thank you." Although I loved being able to travel and try new foods, Henry's cooking would always have a hold of my heart. After spending most of my days at Houghton Hall Boarding School, it was an amazing step forward to better days. "About earlier."
"What about it?" He paused as he took the empty bowl from my hand as he turned back around. I reached over to grab my tea that had cooled off significantly and cupped my hands over the mug.
"Be honest. Did I mess things up with Alli by not being here on her birthday?"
"No." He answered firmly, taking a few steps back towards the bed. "She knows you have a job other than being her mother, and sometimes that means not being there when you have to travel out of the country. All three of our kids know and are resilient to the fact you're kicking butt and taking names."
"Maybe you're right." Pulling the mug to my lips, I lingered as if I were going to take a sip before placing it back in my lap. "Still can't help feeling like I missed an important milestone in her life."
"I'm sorry. I know you wanted to be here." He offered me an apologetic smile. "If it's any consolation, Alli refused to open any of her gifts until you were home safely."
"You mean to tell me our daughter has waited two days to open her presents?" I asked disbelief as I threw back the covers and slowly stretched my arms out in front of me.
"Her words, not mine."
"She still home?"
"Last time I checked, she was downstairs watching a movie with Stevie and Jason. They're pretty into it too."
"Please tell me our children are not watching some horror flick." I groaned as I threw my feet over the bed and tested the waters of sitting up. I had a spell of dizziness but it passed and I was able to use the bed to stand upright.
"I think it's actually more of a romantic comedy." He corrected, watching me carefully with what I was doing. "You're thinking of going downstairs, aren't you?"
"Depends on who chose the movie. The presents still in here?" I answered his question indirectly as I made my way to the closet and slid back a piece of the panel where we put our extra storage and birthday presents. I reached into a rather big box labeled Christmas decorations sitting underneath white shelving and pulled out a four silver and gold dotted presents we had been holding onto.
"My bet would be Ali. Stevie has been making sure she's been had a full weekend of fun to keep her mind off things"
"What about Jason?" Sliding out of the darkened storage area, I slid the panel back into place and turned off the closet light. Although I had my thoughts on why he was watching a chick flick with his sisters, I wanted to hear what Henry thought.
"That one I'm not really sure about. I would guess it's because he wants first dibs to play his video games after the movie."
"Now that one sounds more like our son." Lightly tossing the presents on the bed, I ruffled through my drawer and pulled out some underwear, bra, and my comfortable red plaid pajamas before slipping into the bathroom. Even though I wasn't feeling much, it still took longer than I wanted to change, but I made it through and hung my robe up on the hook for later.
Henry was still standing there when I returned back to the bedroom. I scooped up the presents and he offered his arm so I could walk with him. When we got to the stairs, he gladly took them so I could hold onto the railing and he disappeared into the kitchen to put my bowl in the sink. Oh, how I loved him.
When I was two steps down, he returned back to the living room and grabbed the remote off the coffee table to pause the movie, which seemed to snap them out of their eyes being glued to the television screen.
"Come on, that was the best part!" Jason complained, gesturing wildly to the screen.
"Your mother and I have something to address about a certain sixteen year old's birthday, and then you can get back to your movie." His eyes met mine, then flickered over to Ali who raised her head up from where it had been resting on Stevie's shoulder. At the mention of my presence, she was the first to turn around as I stepped down from my place on the stairs.
Handing me the present we had discussed me giving her specifically before I left for Iran, I sat down in the chair across from her. "Happy birthday, Noodle." I tried to keep my emotions in check as Henry sat on the armchair next to me with the other presents. Here was our spontaneous, creative and responsible teenager growing up right before our eyes.
Tucking her legs underneath her body, she eagerly took the present into hand; her fingers ripping carefully underneath the wrapping paper. "I've always loved this wrapping paper," I swear she didn't rip it once as she placed it carefully next to her. I had always cherished how our parents had done the same thing for Will and I growing up. Each birthday and Christmas felt more magical than the rest, even when we were teenagers; so I made the decision to pass that on to my own children.
"I hope you like it." I watched her eyes light up as she pulled open the small jewelry box and ran her fingers over a gold plated necklace with her name hanging from a matching gold chain.
"Alli." She read the name softly, her index finger stopping on the second 'i' on the necklace."This is your handwriting." In addition to that tradition, Henry and I had always tried to give our kids meaningful gifts, such as something they could remember us by, not just something they wanted. "I love it. Thank you!"